Emotional Energy

Recently I have noticed a trend in the thought process of many Christians. Many have started to revert back to the thought process of the Reformers and Protestants of the Church of England in the 18th- 19th centuries. As wonderful as this spiritual awakening is, we need to be careful and wise. Although these times were some of great spiritual movement, there are some parts of that movement and the current, modern iteration that concern me.

One of those things is the assumption of certain hardline doctrinal stances. Often these are only held due to convincing teaching of preachers we consider powerful and important. Tragically, they often have little Scriptural support. We need to be wary of the warning Paul gave Timothy that we are not to allow certain men to teach strange doctrines or to speculate about things for which we have no sure Biblical support. We have a gnostic take on much of Scripture that should not be so.

Another thing that concerns me is the attitude that comes with this. We have an attitude of being unworthy before God. And this is true. We are indeed unworthy before God, we deserve punishment. But after our realization of this, and our obedience to God, we need to mature in our Faith and actions. We are to move from this sense of self-worthlessness to a sense of the worthiness of God.

In the Book of Revelation, we see John in Heaven. What do the angels and beings before the Throne talk about? Their own lack of worth? No, the worthiness of God. (e.g. Rev. 19:6 ff) What is the difference? Is there even one? Have I just become a picky old man who enjoys fruitless discussion?

I do not think so. The difference here is the moving from self obsession to Godly pursuit. We are unworthy. But some people get a spiritual and emotional 'high' from obsessing over this. They enjoy the feeling; they revel in it. And enjoying life in God is wonderful, make no mistake. However, we need to make sure that we are focusing on God, not ourselves. Sometimes we get too caught up in our own emotions.

Conclusion

So what's the point? That we need to focus on God; not our own emotions. We need to make sure that we aren't just trying to fuel an emotional high. We need to make sure our focus is intact. Let us move on toward maturity in Christ.

Ending Evil

Why does a good God allow evil things to happen? Ever have anyone ask you that? Have you ever asked that? I know I have. If God is truly good and all powerful, why does He not stop this evil?

Let's take a look at what we mean when we say that. We usually mean that something terrible has happened; like a mass shooting, (Colorado theater shooting 2012) or terrorist attacks, (2001 attacks) or persecution of Christians; (too many to count) and that these things should not happen. These all result in so many deaths that we feel could have been avoided if the evil party had been stopped. But what does that entail? What do we really expect from God? Should He use His power to stop all murder? Surely we can all see that this is the first thing we would do if we had the power.

So lets say God does that. He uses force to stop every murder. Does that mean that those people who would be kill are instead injured but survive? Is that better? Or would we say God should kill the evil person first? Or should He force us to not think evil thoughts?

If God did, and all murders ended, what would that mean for us? Would only direct murder be stopped? Or would we no longer be able to eat unhealthy foods or have bad habits, as these are also slowly killing us? Where do we draw the line? Can we even be stressed, seeing that it has a bad effect on us? Would we even be able to choose what we did, as some activities may be worse for some people than others? In the end we would only have one choice in front of us all the time. We would only be able to choose the very best choice, the one that leads to the best outcome.

But would that be choice at all? If we can only choose what is very best, do we have choice? If God started to forcibly change our minds to stop evil from occurring where could that line possibly be drawn? Where would an all knowing God draw such a line?

Thankfully, we don't need to debate that point too far. God did choose where to step in. He has chosen to give us true freewill. We can make all our own choices from beginning to end. Does this mean He doesn't care? No, not at all. He cares deeply for us and our pain that we receive from other people's bad choices and from our own.

Are we then free to do whatever we wish without fear of correction? Again, no. God will correct His children, but He will never force them to do something. He will speak with us, plead with us, and warn us. Eventually, those of us who are disobedient will be punished.

But what about those evil men of times gone past that were never punished? Well, that is another question. We assume that because we do not see the punishment of people now, they are never punished. That is the most flawed part of our human reasoning. We will be punished (or rewarded) after our lives here on Earth are done.

Conclusion

So what can we draw from this? Well, that God is good and that bad things to happen to people. That does not mean that God is the guilty party. In fact, if God did force His will upon all without mercy we would not even be able to have a discussion in this manner. God will right the scales, we just see things from a short term point of view. God will repay. Until then, He will rejoice with those who are obedient and mourn for those who are not. Let us not be disobedient. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. God is not mocked.

Spent Spirit

Have you ever wondered if someone who professed to be a Christian, who then turned away from that belief, was ever even saved? I know this subject gets a lot of review and rehashing when people are debating Reformed doctrine versus Remonstrant doctrine. They pull out books like Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews to defend their chosen side. But lets look further back than what most people tend to do.

In the New Testament the Holy Spirit is poured out on the entire Church. We see that many people are filled with the Holy Spirit, especially in the book of Acts. But what about before Christ's coming and the official pouring out of the Spirit? What was it like in the Old Testament?

We see that in the Old Testament only a few chosen prophets and such people were filled with God's Spirit. One such case was the first King of Israel. Saul was a tall man, humble and God-fearing, when he was selected by God to rule the nation. He was handsome. So handsome, in fact, that it says there was no man who was better looking than he. However, he was truly humble, willing to serve God.

When he was anointed by Samuel as King of Israel, God gave him a new heart. He became a prophet of God. In fact, it says in I Samuel 10:10 that the Spirit of God rushed upon him. We see as we go further that the Spirit of God was indeed upon Saul and God blessed many things that Saul did.

But wait a minute. Is this not Saul, the evil tempered king, who tried to kill David, the man after God's own heart? Tragically, yes. Then the question arises, why would a man filled with God's Spirit try to kill a man after God's own heart? The answer is all too simple. He wouldn't. Saul did not continue to be filled with God's Spirit. Let's take a look at where this all fell apart.

In the thirteenth chapter of this book, we see where Saul makes a grave error. He was waiting for Samuel, God's prophet, in order to make a sacrifice. He waited awhile; in fact, he waited a whole week for the prophet to show up. But he didn't, so Saul decides to take matters into his own hands. He officiates the sacrifice in place of the prophet. God is not pleased. Samuel tells Saul that and Saul repents and lives happily ever after as a obedient King of Israel.

Sadly, that is not the case. Saul does not repent, he does not obey. He has become proud. No longer humble, no longer feeling the need to obey the call of God. His kingdom is large and prosperous, he is handsome, tall, and King of the country. Life is good. And that is usually when we forget God.

And that is what happened. Saul forgot God. Oh, I'm sure he didn't literally forget the name of God. I'm sure there were still sacrifices made to God; I Samuel 14 shows us this. But God was not Saul's priority any longer. Saul did not care, he was too busy and comfortable. Where did that lead Saul?

Well in chapter 15 we find that Saul had disobeyed God again. When he is found out by the prophet, he asks the prophet to forgive him of his sin. He pleads for forgiveness with Samuel. He is rejected. Saul is told that he has been rejected not only in this regard and on this occasion, but also as King of Israel. Samuel, speaking as God's prophet, does not forgive King Saul for this error. Why?

Well, if we look at the context of the apology we see that Saul only apologizes so he may bow to the Lord before the people with the prophet. We do not have the details here, but it seems as if it is merely a political move, a way to win approval from the people.

God's Spirit left Saul. It fell upon a humble shepherd boy in the wilderness. But that is not all. When the Spirit of God left Saul, he was not left without a spirit. Not at all. Saul might have wished for a lack of spirit after what he received. We are told that a harmful spirit was sent by God to torment Saul. Note that God's Spirit is one thing and a spirit sent by God is quite another. Saul was tortured by this spirit for a long time; in fact, we do not have a record of this spirit ever leaving Saul.

Conclusion

So, what can we draw from this morbid tale? God is not mocked. (Galatians 6:7) Saul was anointed by God, was given the very Spirit of God, yet he was rejected in the end. I will not go into TULIP Theology or such overly debated issues. Instead, let us look at the story we have before us and take only what we have directly from Scripture. Saul was filled with the Spirit but he lost it, due to his disobedience and hardness of heart. So yes, it is possible to be filled with God's Spirit and loose it. But let us not go about and judge other people in our time too quickly. God is the Judge, and He will judge perfectly. After all, it is His Spirit we are talking about isn't it? I'm sure He knows where He is. As for personal application, let us take note that David also sinned, but was forgiven. Why? He was not only sorry he was caught, but truly repented from the heart. Let us do the same.

Forgotten Festival

Christmas is coming. Santa is everywhere. Black Friday sales are up on every site I visit. But what I am interested in most this year is Thanksgiving; or rather the lack thereof. I find the lack of attention Thanksgiving is getting gets greater each holiday season. Black Friday is everywhere, Christmas decorations are up, Eggnog is available. As much as I enjoy the Christmas season, I wonder; have we forgotten to give thanks? The world no longer acknowledges Thanksgiving because our post-Christian world has no One to give thanks to. They have abandoned God in our culture, so they have no reason to be thankful. We do. Let us give thanks and remember to be truly thankful for the gift we received that started the Holiday season (the Holidays being Christmas and Thanksgiving). The gift of Salvation, brought by Christ, who was born those many years ago.

As you walk around and view the blatant greed that replaces Thanksgiving, (both the holiday and the idea of giving thanks) remember that we are to be Christ to the people around us. The holidays are known for the lines and crowds that gather, and those in turn are known for the short tempers and 'look out for number one' attitude they create. Instead of stepping on peoples' toes this year in line, (both literally and figuratively) try to be Christ to them. Smile, be kind, be patient, show a sense of caring.

When we talk to our families, what do we talk about? Gifts? Expenses of the Holidays? Busyness? Have we been thankful? Do we go out of our way to hint at the gifts we are glad we have, or just the ones we want this year?

Conclusion

Short and sweet- here it is. Give thanks. Honor God in our Holidays and in every day. Show how He has blessed us by being giving, not greedy; by being thankful, not thoughtless. Let us be a light in the darkness, not just another bit of darkness that needs light. Giving thanks is a choice, one we must not give up so quickly.

Santa Science

To start this post off, I am going to assume that you don't believe in Santa Clause. (if you do and are reading this blog, feel free to leave a comment) Those of us that do not believe in Santa Clause just assume that everyone else feels the same way because it just makes sense. (and we have Christmas bills to pay). But for the sake of argument, let us say we were trying to determine whether or not Santa Clause exists using scientific reasons for his nonexistence. I found an interesting list of reasons Santa could not exist, here's the link

http://www.daniweb.com/community-center/geeks-lounge/threads/15956/scientists-explain-why-santa-doesnt-exist#

As you can see, being Santa in the modern world is impossible. A myth of man. But wait a second, wouldn't many an atheist say the same thing about God? People have gone to great lengths to prove God doesn't exist, and He is far more impressive than Santa. Should we be worried?

"What's the point?" you may be asking yourself. Well, the point I'm making is this. As funny as the list is that was posted, and as true as it is, scientifically speaking; I don't think anyone was offended by it. We all know Santa doesn't exist, so we wouldn't care if someone else believed it. Do you spend your days complaining about the people who are 'dumb enough' to buy into the Santa schtick? I doubt it. So why are there people who get so upset that we are 'dumb enough' to believe in God? Who spend their lives trying to prove the lack of existence of God? They don't do this with Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or the Tooth Fairy. So why do they pick on Christians? If they really believe what they say they believe, (that God is just our imagination, He was the creation of needy people) then why are the kicking the crutches out from under the needy? If God doesn't exist and we need Him to are they not just being cruel? Why does it matter to these people what we believe?

Because, unlike the Tooth Fairy, we are all programmed, deep in our souls, to worship God. They are right, we DO need God. Why? Because we were made that way. Atheists get so upset because in every human there is a need for God. They are trying to deny that need. We don't need the Tooth Fairy. (Santa would be handy though) But God, Eternal and All-Powerful, is the very reason we exist. Try denying something your body needs- water, food, air- soon your body will obsess over nothing but that one item. Our souls work the same basic way. They try to deny God, and the need for Him consumes them and leads them to obsession.

But why do they care what we believe? Isn't it enough for them to be 'above us' that they can just ignore us? Atheists care what we believe because, if (or more correctly since) we are right, there are consequences they will not escape. Their obsession with the lack of God needs to be shared so that we can verify that they are right. They think that if enough people agree with them, that it must be fact. That is very flawed reasoning. If that worked, then Mitt Romney would have won the President Election (at least here in Texas) because that is what people wanted to have happen. They really believed it. But belief in the incorrect does not make it true. Eating a dozen cookies and imagining that they won't have any calories doesn't help, even if all your friends believe it as well.

Conclusion

So what should we take from this? Well, for one, now that we know a bit of what goes on in an atheist's head, we should be able to approach them with love a bit better. If we cannot do so, than it is not worth anything. We should always strive to use our knowledge to better serve God. That applies to this as well as anything else we learn.

Mere Morality

What is the difference between doing what's right and not doing what's wrong? Have you ever asked yourself this question? There are some times in our lives where we have more than one choice. We can openly chose to do wrong, we can chose not to do wrong, or we can chose to do what is right.

But aren't doing what is right and not doing what is wrong the same thing? Well, thats a good question. Let's look at some examples and see what conclusion we come to.

Imagine a dark alley. As you walk through it, you see two men beating up a teenager. Now, if you agree that what they are doing is actively wrong and do not join in with the two men in beating the teenager, you did not choose to do the wrong thing. But if you also chose to  help the teenager get away from this abuse, most likely being beat by these two men in the process, you would actively choose the right thing.

Here's another example. Imagine yourself as a child. You and three other children are picking on another child. Although you really don't mean it in spite, you can see that the other child is not taking this well. If you chose to stop teasing the kid, then you chose to not do what is wrong. You can walk away and no longer be actively doing what is wrong. But if you choose to apologize and ask the other three children to stop as well you have chosen what is right.

What do we call these two things? Well, to not chose wrong is called morality. Moral choices are those that are usually easy to spot when they are made in the wrong way. The other choice is called character. Character is visible when we make an active intentional correct choice. So what is the relationship between character and morality?

We must first make moral choices before we can have character. It sounds obvious, but let's think about this for a minute. So often we want to use a different set of rules for one thing than for another. We try to have morals and character in one field of our lives and then we turn around and make an immoral choice in another part of our lives. We then wonder why it is so hard to have character in the other parts of our life. It is impossible to have consistent character if we still willfully make immoral choices in some part of our lives. The effect is felt in the other parts of our relationship with people, but more importantly, with God.

Here's another example. An art thief manages a bank by day. As an art thief, he has no problem making the immoral choice of stealing from other people. But as a bank manager, he has the opportunity to steal from people in a thousand ways. Do you think he will have character (consistently) in his day job? Whether he steals ten million from a firm, or ten cents off of his employee's check, either way he will make the immoral choice at some point.

Conclusion

In the same way, if we make immoral choices in some aspects of our lives, yet expect to have true Godly character, we deceive ourselves. We need to start with morality, then build up to character. (Romans 5 has more on this subject) This starts with the realization that we are not moral by nature, but fallen. We need to repent of our fallen state, turn around with God's help and grace, and move toward morality and character. May God help us to do so as people, then as a church.

Does God Hate Me?

God is Love. That is one of the first things we teach our children. We have them memorize verses like John 3:16 and I John 4:8b. We simply tell them that God loves all people, everywhere, always. We sing songs like "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children". But are we lying to them? Does God really love all people?

This is a delicate subject within some groups of people. They will point to verses like Romans 9:13

¹³ Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

So what can we take from this verse? Does this mean God hated Esau in all time? What was Esau guilty of in order to be hated by God Himself? Before we assume anything too quickly, let's go to the passage Paul is referencing. He is paraphrasing the book of Obadiah. Edom/Esau was the father of the nation of Edom. The reference here in Obadiah is to Esau's descendants harming the children of Jacob, which would be relatives to Edom. God pronounces judgement on the nation of Edom and on Esau as well for this evil deed. (we find this revisited in Malachi 1)

Jacob and Esau are the symbols used by God for the nations of Israel and Edom (the names of Jacob and Esau). The disobedience of Esau, and later his descendants, was abominable in God's eyes. At their birth it was prophesied that Esau would serve Jacob; but only after Esau sold his entire inheritance for some soup and his descendants were pillaging and destroying the family that God had given them, (the Israelites) do we hear from God that He hated them. So the question remains: Did God hate them (Edom) before or after they disobeyed God? Was it because they were disobedient to the call of submission to Israel that they were cursed? (Genesis 12:3) God does promise to curse those who curse Israel and that is what Edom did when they dishonored their brothers, the Israelites. God's wrath was then poured out upon them with a fierce heat.

But what of the verses before this right there in the book of Romans? Romans 9:11-12 tells us much about God's choice of Israel over his brother. God chose Israel from before his birth and Esau was to serve his brother. Note the change from servitude into condemnation. Paul switches seamlessly between the two without explaining any difference. In fact, it may seem that he sees none. So what do we believe? Or does it even matter?

Conclusion

Well, what do we take from this encounter? Do we say there are people God choses to hate and no matter what they do they cannot come to God? No, what we are saying is that there are those that God will use for His purpose even if that means they will be used in a dishonorable way. (II Tim. 2:20) The very next verse here in Second Timothy tells us what we can do to avoid being such vessels of dishonor. We are to cleanse ourselves from all evil and impurity. We need to take care and be obedient so that we may be vessels of honor in God's house. The important difference we need to note is the active choice to follow God's will or not. (Josh. 24:15) And in John we find this passage.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. -JOHN 1:12-13

So we are indeed first called by God, and when we heed that call and obey the voice of God in our lives we become vessels of honor. If we do not, we cannot be. Remember this simple command of Jesus in Matthew 5:48.

"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."